Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you. – John 15:13-16a
If there is one thing you can be sure of, it is this: people will hurt you. It may be accidental, or it may be intentional, but it will happen. Repeatedly. You may do your best to keep others at a distance or only allow “positive, encouraging” people to draw close to you, but you will never fully insulate yourself from the toxicity of humanity. There will be things said and left unsaid, things done and left undone, which bruise and break our hearts and spirits. But there is a sweet-like-honey truth to overcome the bitter taste of how others treat you: Jesus is not like others. He is a friend who will never betray you, lie to you, abandon you, say unloving things to you, neglect you, unfriend you, take advantage of you, condemn you, harm you, pretend with you, mis-prioritize you, belittle you, withhold love from you, or mistreat you. And no matter how wonderful that is, that’s not all that there is. Jesus is not only a doer of good to you, He is also an un-doer of bad done to you by others. They hurt your heart; He heals it. They distance themselves; He draws near. They sting you with their words; He soothes you with His. They overlook you; He pays attention. They cheat you; He blesses you. They intend to harm you; He works it out for good. They judge your sins; He dies for them. When there is a lack of care, no one cares, others care only about themselves, or they can’t provide the care you need … Jesus is a friend who cares, and He will show you that care in whatever way He knows will do you the most good. It is stunning that we can be friends with the Creator of the universe. What a friend we have in Jesus! He loved us most by giving His life for us, He loves us first by initiating friendship with us, He loves us best every single day, and He will love us longest throughout an eternity of joy and pleasure in His presence.
